Unscrambling Rogozin's Flight To Russia

It's been a busy few days for Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

On May 9, he bragged on Twitter about being able to land in Transdniester, Moldova's Moscow-backed separatist region, despite EU travel sanctions.

Now, he is claiming to be safely back in Moscow after eluding Ukrainian fighter jets bent on intercepting his plane.

And oh, he also threatened to bomb Romania.

Rogozin, a former NATO envoy, was in Transdniester to attend celebrations marking the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

He is on the list of top Russian officials slapped by EU and U.S. sanctions in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

A prolific Twitter user, Rogozin has posted a string of messages from Moldova's breakaway region, including one vowing to wipe out fascism with "a bullet in the head" -- a particularly grim pledge considering Moscow has branded all Ukrainian pro-democracy activists neo-Nazis.

Early on May 10, he claimed Romania and Ukraine barred him from entering their airspace. "Next time," he quipped, "I'll fly on a TU-160" bomber.

Three hours later, after saying he was "flying out despite the ban," Rogozin tweeted that Ukrainian fighter jets had turned back his plane.

But he then immediately posted a photo of himself smiling mischievously against the backdrop of Moscow's Domodedovo airport, leaving viewers scratching their heads.

Meanwhile, Russian officials who had accompanied Rogozin to Transdniester confirmed their aircraft had been turned back by Ukrainian warplanes and forced to land in Chisinau.

But Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, who was part of the Russian delegation, said Rogozin was not aboard the government jet and had returned to Moscow on a regular flight instead.

While the Russian minister's antics might have amused some readers, Romania and Ukraine might not be so impressed.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry dismissed Rogozin's claims as a "fantasy."

Romania's foreign ministry, in turn, urged Moscow to clarify its stance on Rogozin's threat to use a bomber in its airspace.

Such remarks, it said, constitute a "very serious statement in the current regional context."

-- Claire Bigg

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